The Curse of Oak Island (2014–…): Season 6, Episode 5 - Homecoming - full transcript
NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
Maybe today
we'll find the one thing.
I think we're right on target
for that tunnel.
TERRY:
Keep your eyes peeled, guys.
-(beeping)
-GARY: Sweet.
-What is that?
We found a copy
of the Cremona Document.
That document will lead us
to a Templar voyage
to the new world,
including Oak Island.
MARTY: We have the first
evidence the French were here.
-TERRY: Whoa!
-CHARLES: What do you got?
I think you hit the tunnel
from Shaft Six.
NARRATOR: There is an island
in the North Atlantic
where people have been looking
for an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.
So far, they have found
a stone slab
with strange symbols
carved into it,
mysterious fragments
of human bone,
and a lead cross
whose origin may stretch back
to the days
of the Knights Templar.
To date, six men have died
trying to solve the mystery.
And, according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: For brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina
and members of their team,
the keys to solving the
223-year-old Oak Island mystery
may be closer than ever.
Hey, Mike,
we're going to go with HI-4.
Not looking for much
of anything till
-at least 90 feet.
-Sounds good.
From then on,
we'll start firming up,
making sure
we're getting good samples.
-Okay.
-The key-- looking for a tunnel
at the 100-foot level,
maybe a little deeper.
Okay. Sounds good.
-Okay.
-All right.
NARRATOR: In recent weeks,
an ambitious seismic survey
of the island
has revealed a number
of possible underground voids.
Voids which may be connected
to the original
Oak Island treasure shaft,
discovered in 1795.
There's your wood!
NARRATOR:
So far, the seismic results
have guided the team
to the remains
of a possible tunnel
at a depth of 93 feet,
along with evidence
of human activity
some 170 feet deep underground.
Somebody's hit these things
with an axe. You can see it.
NARRATOR: Today,
the team has begun drilling
a new exploratory borehole
in an area known as HI-4,
where seismic imaging detected
a possible network of tunnels
at a depth of 100 feet.
We've got two well locations
that hit wood
that, to me, look like tunnels,
-because of the amount
you found.
-Right.
So, if these are the shafts,
then that's the direction
the tunnel would go. HI-4.
TERRY: Yeah,
and that's, in general,
where conventional wisdom
-indicates
that the Money Pit was.
-Right. Right.
-Okay.
-So, we'll see.
NARRATOR:
It was while excavating
in this same area last year
that the team encountered
an object they believed
to be
the so-called Chappell Vault
at a depth of some 170 feet.
(mechanical whirring, clanging)
It feels like I'm on a whole
bunch of wood at once now.
NARRATOR: The vault,
which was first discovered
by treasure hunters William
Chappell and Frederick Blair
in 1897,
was estimated to be a large,
seven-foot-tall
wooden structure.
After drilling through it,
the drill bit revealed
evidence of gold,
as well as a small piece of
parchment with writing on it.
Unfortunately, when Chappell
and Blair attempted
to excavate the vault,
the tunnel
they had dug filled with water
and collapsed.
Last year,
after once again locating
what Rick, Marty
and Craig Tester believed
to be the Chappell Vault,
the 60-inch-wide drilling
caisson they were using
seemed to have pushed
the elusive structure lower
and lower into the soft,
muddy ground
and off to the side.
We have to exploit this find.
We have to, um,
you know, find out
the orientation of the tunnel,
because it's certainly
in close proximity to H-8.
And if we model it,
and it turns out
that it's somewhere in
association with the Money Pit,
then we're onto something.
(mechanical whirring)
CRAIG:
It'd be great if we hit wood,
you know, 100 feet or something.
I would like it. Then we're
look... then we're looking
-for that break for that tunnel.
-Yeah.
We should be drilling
good and straight.
NARRATOR:
As the drilling operation
at the Money Pit continues...
(Skype ringing)
-Hey, Marty.
-Hey, guys.
NARRATOR: ...Craig Tester
joins Rick Lagina
and other members
of the Oak Island team
in the war room.
So, big brother, how'd your trip
to New York go? Tell me.
I'll tell you in one word.
-I was stunned.
-Wow.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
Rick received the shocking news
that his close friend,
researcher and author
Zena Halpern,
had passed away.
Rick also learned that Zena had
bequeathed to him
the results of her life's work,
including a vast trove of books
and documents
which seemed to connect
the Oak Island mystery
to activities
involving the Knights Templar
as far back as
the 12th century.
I'm just so thrilled to know
that her life's work
isn't just gonna stop
right now.
I guarantee you it's not gonna
stop, Davin, Jason.
It's not gonna stop.
She wouldn't allow it to stop,
and we won't either.
Thank you, brother.
The amount of material
that Zena has wrought...
The width and breadth
of the lady's accomplishments
and research...
It was stunning.
That is the word, stunning.
Is it tied to Oak Island?
I think we all have a...
just a very rudimentary
understanding
of the work
as it relates to Oak Island.
The information is
somewhat disjointed.
Do you have the information
with you? You have it all?
I have some of it,
but there was so much
that we have to have it shipped.
The information will all come
to Oak Island.
So one of the things
that was found
is a, uh, actual copy
of the Cremona Document.
And it's a deposition
by this English Templar knight.
It's a description
of a year-long voyage
to the New World,
wha-what's called Onteora.
I know what this is.
This is at the core
of your mother's research.
NARRATOR: While packing up
Zena's collection of research,
Rick discovered a copy
of what is known as
the "Cremona Document,"
a collection of maps
and journal passages
reportedly authored by
the 12th-century Templar knight
Ralph de Sudeley.
It describes not only
de Sudeley's journey
to the Temple Mount
in Jerusalem,
where he claimed
to have recovered
priceless religious treasures
including the Ark
of the Covenant,
but also a Templar voyage to
the New World in the year 1178,
more than three centuries
before Christopher Columbus
made landfall in North America.
I don't know if this is
100% accurate, I don't.
Right.
I do believe with 100% certainty
that it's worth
some commitment of ours
to try to come to
an understanding
of whether not only
is this relevant,
but is it accurate?
Here's my thought.
We've now come into possession
of some remarkable research,
a lifetime's worth of research,
literally.
And to that end, I propose that
we establish a research center.
A place where we can gather the
information regarding our work,
our pursuit of answers
for the Oak Island mystery,
and commit ourselves
to that endeavor.
I want to carry her work
forward, I do.
Once Zena's research is here
and housed here,
it will foster this sense
that the information hunt
is, indeed, important.
I believe there's a lot more
to glean from her research,
and who knows where
those paths lead us?
I think the future of that
research, Zena's legacy,
if you will, is in very good
hands on Oak Island.
Yeah, it sounds to me like the
research center idea is timely
because, you know, it's going
to take some real digging
to mess with this.
So, keep going, keep digging
is all I can say,
and see what's... try and
separate out fact from fiction.
I'm gonna make certain
that we follow up on this.
-Good job, you guys.
-All right.
-See you later.
-See ya.
MARTY:
Talk to you later. Bye.
CHARLES:
What hole are we on?
-TERRY: HI-4.
-CHARLES: HI-4? Okay.
NARRATOR: Following their
meeting in the war room,
Craig Tester
and Charles Barkhouse
return to the Money Pit area to
check on the drilling progress
of Borehole HI-4,
a location where recent
seismic scanning indicates
a man-made tunnel might exist
some 100 feet below.
-This is 118?
-Yeah.
NARRATOR: As the sonic rig
advances the drill bar
deeper into the ground,
a specialized coring barrel
on the end
will extract samples of earth,
and any objects or evidence,
in intervals of up to ten feet.
TERRY:
All right, here we go.
We're casing to 118 right now.
-What's on the table is
109 to 118.
-Okay.
NARRATOR:
These samples
will then be carefully examined
by the team
for any evidence of the tunnel,
and hopefully,
any important artifacts
or treasure they might contain.
So, let's-let's look at this
with much interest.
Keep your eyes peeled, guys.
CHARLES:
It's just thick, eh? Solid.
Uh-oh, that's wood.
Is that horizontal?
-A little bit of an angle.
-CHARLES: You know,
it came this way, so...
-That's 45-ish.
-Yeah, it's coming in
a little bit
-of an angle, but, you know,
it could have been a...
-It's coming in-- Yeah,
-could have been...
-Could have been
a collapsed board.
Yeah.
TERRY: Flip that over.
That's a very flat surface.
-That's the edge of your timber.
-Yeah.
I think we're right on target
for-for that tunnel.
I think we're right
in the general area.
I really think we're in
in situ material.
NARRATOR: The presence
of undisturbed or in situ soil
means that the wood
the team has found
is likely from a centuries-old,
man-made structure.
Could it be one
of the infamous flood tunnels
designed to protect
a priceless treasure?
Or might it be a tunnel that
leads to the treasure itself?
You guys got your own
personal swamp going on here.
-Yes.
-Hey, Rick.
Where we at?
CRAIG:
109 to 118.
I don't know. Looks like a--
looks like a cut piece here.
And what's interesting
about this, that was
-almost horizontal.
-CRAIG: Charles,
what do you think about finding
wood at this depth?
We could, possibly--
just possibly--
be in your debris field.
The tunnel going from Shaft Six
to the Money Pit.
NARRATOR: A tunnel leading
to the Money Pit?
In 1861,
a team of treasure hunters
attempted to reach the bottom
of the original Money Pit
and avoid the flood tunnels
by digging an adjacent shaft
down to a depth of 118 feet.
From there, they began
tunneling some 18 feet east
in the hopes of entering
from underneath the floor
of the suspected
treasure chamber.
Unfortunately,
as the team dug closer,
the tunnel, known as Shaft Six,
started flooding
with seawater,
halting their efforts.
Just days later,
workers reported
hearing a series
of horribly loud crashes below,
leading to speculation that
the Money Pit had collapsed,
scattering tons of lumber
and possible treasure
across a deep,
flooded debris field.
Shaft Six,
at the time they dug it,
they knew exactly where
the original Money Pit was.
If we can find the tunnel,
we can track it back
to the original location
of the Money Pit,
and there you are.
If it is Shaft Six,
it's been long sought.
Records show 118
would be the bottom of it.
-Yeah, we just don't know where.
-RICK: Well, it depends.
-Depends on which end you're at.
-Yeah, exactly.
'Cause that thing was
18 feet long.
But if it's clear,
and you really knew it was Six,
and then you knew
which end you were at,
and then you could infer
where the Money Pit was...
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Because the location
of Shaft Six has been lost
for over a century, finding
what appears to be evidence
of an old searcher tunnel could
be an exciting breakthrough.
If the Oak Island team can
determine which part
of the shaft they have
discovered,
it could help them pinpoint
the exact position
of the original Money Pit.
(drill whining, creaking)
RICK:
If this is Six,
something's gonna come up
in that core.
CRAIG:
Okay, here it comes.
TERRY:
Think that was pushed down?
-Nothing big?
-No.
There's wood right here.
Look at there.
Yeah, that's a little...
interesting.
That's the floor of the tunnel,
right there.
Now, that ties pretty good
with Shaft Six and its tunnel.
What does that tell us to do?
Move over and try
to track that further,
see if that's a shaft or not?
Yeah, I agree.
TERRY: So, yeah,
what are we at right now?
-So, we're at 128.
-128-ish.
Yeah, there's no point
in going deeper.
No.
NARRATOR: Having reached
a depth of 128 feet,
some ten feet below
the bottom of Shaft Six,
the Oak Island team
sees little purpose
in continuing to dig
Borehole HI-4.
Instead, they will choose
another drill site in an effort
to find the elusive
19th-century searcher shaft
and the tunnel that should lead
them to the original Money Pit.
There's enough intriguing
information here
that lends itself, I think...
Wh-When we come back at this,
we have to continue to explore
this possibility.
-Yep, absolutely.
-Perfect. Thanks, guys.
-Yep. Take care.
-See ya.
-See ya, Rick.
NARRATOR: As a new day begins
on Oak Island...
MARTY: Rick, I believe your
research center is here.
NARRATOR: ...Rick, Marty
and members of the team
welcome the arrival
of a very timely addition
to the island.
DAVE:
Oh, look at that.
Wow.
NARRATOR:
Irving Equipment, Limited,
the company which,
for the past three years,
has become a valuable partner
in nearly all of the team's
major excavations,
has helped arrange
for one of its affiliates--
Kent Homes--
to temporarily donate
one of their prefabricated
residential dwellings
to the island.
It will serve not only
as a library
to house the records
of Zena Halpern,
but also as a research center,
where people interested
in Oak Island and its history
can come and work.
I'm very grateful myself.
I think that Oak Island is
a very special place,
and as part of that,
we welcome Irving
as part of the Oak Island story.
Well, thank you very much
for the-the opportunity
to-to be a part of this.
Anything we can do on our end,
we'll gladly help support you
-on that from our side.
-Great. Fantastic.
Let's have a look.
MARTY:
Very nice.
-In fact, really nice.
-Yup.
It'll be nicer when there's
computers, maps,
conference tables,
monitors.
I've always espoused the belief
that we need
a proper research center.
If we all really want answers
to the mystery, then we need to
have a place where
real research can be done.
The deal is you've got
to look to the past
to move the...
to move the search forward.
All it would take is
one little discovery
and one little,
obscure piece of paper
-to turn everything,
make it all worth it.
-Exactly.
RICK:
It's a great start
for what
we're trying to achieve.
CHARLES:
I agree.
Rick Lagina and Charles
Barkhouse are joined
by fellow Oak Island
enthusiasts
Doug Crowell and Paul Troutman.
Wow, I see Doug's already
got it set up.
Yeah.
(laughs)
NARRATOR:
They have come to help unpack
the vast collection
of research materials,
most of which Rick
has recently inherited
from his late friend,
Zena Halpern.
Look at that.
It's all... annotated.
You know, notes.
It's incredible.
RICK: One of the greatest things
about Oak Island
is you meet interesting,
wonderful,
captivating people.
And this commitment, this
passion, this desire to learn,
it changed Zena's life.
PAUL:
Yeah, she added notes
on top of
what was currently there.
Notes on top of notes.
We'll have to see how it ties in
more with Oak Island.
NARRATOR: As work on the new
research center progresses,
Jack Begley, Peter Fornetti
and metal-detection expert
Gary Drayton head to Lot 21,
located on the western side
of the island.
GARY: So, we should be able
to bring back
a ton of stuff from here.
-PETER: Let's get to it.
-GARY: Yep.
NARRATOR: It was while searching
this same lot
just three weeks ago
that Gary,
along with Rick Lagina,
made one of the team's
most astonishing discoveries
to date.
GARY:
Oh, my gosh.
It's another bobby-dazzler!
Look.
NARRATOR:
A gold-plated brooch,
which was later
determined to be
as much as 700 years old.
GARY: I'm trying to winkle
a good target out.
(metal detector whines)
(beeping)
That is what a button
or a coin would sound like.
(whining)
Just in here, mate.
(beeping)
GARY:
Come on, be something good.
JACK: Baby,
give me something good.
(beeping)
It's out, whatever it is.
-(beeping)
-JACK: What is that?
-That's got some designs on it.
-GARY: Yeah, that has.
Oh, that's cool.
GARY: You know what this
reminds me of?
This reminds me of, like, a cap
badge, a military cap badge.
This would have been
a decoration on a cap.
It would have been on the front,
and that's
a top-pocket find, mate.
In we go.
All right.
And we'll see if there's
any more parts to it.
(sensor whirring, beeping)
GARY: We got another signal
in the top.
-JACK: Oh, awesome.
-Be a little bit more gentle
with this one, this time.
I'm hoping it's more
of the same.
(beeping)
-Ooh, it is.
-It is.
-Yeah.
-Yes.
-Oh, man, look at that.
I-I could, before I moved it,
I could see the fleur-de-lis.
This is...
That is definitely...
Let's see if it fits on there.
-JACK: It does.
-PETER: Perfect.
GARY:
It's definitely a fit.
Like a glove.
Wow, look at that design
on there.
They look like fleur-de-lis,
or very, very similar.
-That's a French design.
-JACK: French?
This would date to the 1700s.
NARRATOR:
A badge?
And possibly from the cap
of an 18th-century
French military
officer's uniform?
But if so, what is it doing
on Oak Island?
And could it have some
connection to the gold brooch
discovered in this same area
earlier this year?
-French military, baby.
-JACK: (chuckles) Yeah.
But what was they either
putting here or searching for?
Or protecting.
GARY: Definitely
a top-pocket find, guys.
NARRATOR:
Later that same day...
...Rick and Charles,
along with Craig Tester
and Dave Blankenship, head over
to the Money Pit site,
where the team from Choice
Drilling has already begun
coring a new borehole,
known as IJ-5.5,
an area chosen
due to its close proximity
to GAL-1, one of the team's
most promising shafts to date.
-Hey, guys.
-Hey.
RICK: I am absolutely interested
in drilling
this position called IJ-5.5,
in search of
the long sought after tunnel
between Shaft Six
and the Money Pit.
After that collapse, in 1861,
the Money Pit location
was lost,
and ever since then,
there's only been a guess.
An educated guess, mind you,
but if we can find that tunnel,
I think that's the way
to un-corkscrew the Money Pit.
CHARLES:
So, Brennan, we're at 59, right?
BRENNAN:
That's correct, 59.
RICK: The reason why this one
is interesting,
-when we drilled the GAL hole...
-Yep.
...we found, in the spoils,
we find a very old spike,
and we found
a gold-plated button.
MARTY:
That's our spot, right there.
-That's where GAL is.
-GAL number one.
NARRATOR:
Two years ago, in an effort
to locate the original
Money Pit, the Oak Island team
excavated a 40-inch-wide
exploratory shaft
which was named in honor
of Rick and Marty's parents,
George and Ann Lagina: GAL-1.
We've got a coin!
Honest to God, a coin?
Out of this spoils pile?
NARRATOR: It was while searching
the spoils from this hole,
which was dug
to a depth of 160 feet,
that the team made a number
of significant discoveries...
GARY:
It says "plated." It's a button.
NARRATOR:
...including a gold-plated
18th-century
British military button,
a 300-year-old
iron rosehead spike
and a mysterious metal hinge
believed to have come from some
kind of large box or vault.
RICK: Maybe that was part
of the debris field.
I never thought twice
about it, did you?
No, 'cause we didn't know
where it came from.
Okay.
Maybe today
we'll find the one thing.
-CRAIG: Yeah.
-Yep.
RICK:
That's the hope.
NARRATOR:
Early the next day...
If that's French,
then obviously,
as the team
from Choice Drilling
continues the coring operation
at Borehole IJ-5.5...
-CHARLES: Wow.
-RICK: Look at that.
CHARLES:
They're really coming along.
-DAN H.: Yeah.
-Morning.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina,
Charles Barkhouse
and Dan Henskee
check on the progress
of the massive steel cofferdam
being constructed
at Smith's Cove.
-Wow.
-Quite impressive.
It's looking good.
RICK: You know, I have
high hopes for that area.
CHARLES:
Yeah.
RICK:
So, bring us up to speed.
How is it going?
Have you encountered, you know,
the problem-- the potential
problem was always wood.
Have you encountered
any of that?
No wood, yet. No.
A little harder tills and clay
we're into now, but no wood.
You can see the profile
of the sheets,
-right where the corner starts.
-CHARLES: Yeah.
COLIN: Where they step up
about a foot or so,
-that's where
the hard tills are.
-Yeah.
NARRATOR: In order to construct
a cofferdam both wide enough
and deep enough to encircle
most of Smith's Cove,
the team from Irving Equipment,
Limited has employed a process
known as sheet piling,
which uses a powerful hydraulic
hammer to drive
40-foot-long steel sheets up to
25 feet deep into the seabed.
Each of these pilings,
weighing some 5,500 pounds,
will interlock together
to form a 525-foot-long
watertight barrier,
which, when finished,
will allow the Oak Island team
to fully drain
and then excavate
the approximately
12,000-square-foot area.
If successful,
the team may be able to find
not only important
historical artifacts
like the mysterious lead cross,
but also the entrance
to the booby-trapped
flood tunnel system,
which sends ocean water
to the Money Pit area
for the purpose of thwarting
would-be treasure hunters.
How far along
do you think we are?
After today,
we should have about a third
-of the wall completed.
-Good.
RICK:
I'm buoyed by the fact
that we're going
to accomplish this.
We're going to get Smith's Cove
sealed off watertight
once and for all.
If it were up to me,
I would start yesterday.
The faster this proceeds,
the more answers we will gain,
and, uh, that's the hope.
Colin, can't wait
to see it completed,
and, uh, we can
get our hands dirty.
-Sure.
-Yeah.
RICK: I know you got
a lot of work to do.
The guys are busy, so good luck
the rest of the day.
-Stay safe.
-COLIN: Yes, you, too.
-See you later, guys.
-CHARLES: Thank you.
COLIN:
Take care.
NARRATOR:
Later that day...
MARTY:
Come on in.
...Marty Lagina, his son Alex
and local archeologist
Laird Niven
arrive for a meeting at the
new Oak Island Research Center.
-Hello, gents.
-GARY: Hey, guys.
-PAUL: Hey, how you doing, guys?
-Hey, guys.
-I got Laird in tow.
NARRATOR: They have been
invited by Gary Drayton
and researcher Paul Troutman
to inspect Gary's most recent
discoveries on Lot 21.
Gary, I understand you have
some TPFs for us.
-Yep. Top-pocket finds.
-Top-pocket finds.
-GARY: I have.
-You know, I'm always excited
when you say that,
so let's have a look.
Well, first of all, I'll have to
tell you where this came from.
MARTY:
Yep.
Lot 21.
So, I won't tease you
any longer,
and it's in the top pocket.
MARTY:
All right.
GARY:
Check this out.
Both pieces were found
in the same area.
What do you think
of that, Laird?
-LAIRD: Hmm.
-ALEX: Oh, man, look at that.
LAIRD:
Interesting.
GARY: I think what this is
is a cap or a hat decoration,
a military uniform piece.
That's kind of the shape
of a grenadier's hat as well,
-replicating that...
-Yeah. Yeah.
GARY: And the French influence,
as well.
LAIRD:
Yeah. Yeah.
If that's French,
then obviously,
the first thing you think of
is the ship's log
and the Duc D'Anville,
and all of that connection.
I found eight pages of a ship,
what looks like a ship's log.
NARRATOR: Last year, Oak Island
researcher Doug Crowell
presented the team
with information
taken from
a centuries-old ship's log.
In it was the detailed account
of a failed French
naval expedition in 1746
led by the Duc D'Anville,
a descendant of a family
connected
to the Knights Templar.
The log also documented
the construction
of what was described
as a deep treasure shaft
dug on a wooded island
and then filled with millions
in gold and precious jewels.
"It has been agreed
that a deep pit be dug,
"the pit to have a secret
entrance by a tunnel
from the shore."
CRAIG: I mean, a great quantity
of treasure,
and that they appear
to be in this bay.
What troubles me
is how perfect this is.
Interestingly enough,
the Duc D'Anville,
his real name was Jean-Baptiste
Louis Frédéric de Rochefoucauld.
NARRATOR: Could this French
military badge,
which Gary believes dates back
to the 1700s,
be physical evidence
that the Duc D'Anville
actually came to Oak Island?
The same Duc D'Anville
whose ancestors were believed
by Zena Halpern
to be key players in the Oak
Island treasure mystery?
Is that the only potential
French thing
we've found on the island?
-It is for me.
-Yeah.
As far as I know.
MARTY: Every time you find
something, Gary,
-it expands the possibilities,
not shrinks them.
-Yes.
-More questions than answers.
-(laughter)
Good. Let's see
where the trail leads us.
GARY:
I need some bigger top pockets.
(laughter)
NARRATOR: As the drilling
of Borehole IJ-5.5 continues
at the Money Pit...
RANDALL (over phone):
Hello?
-MARTY: Hello, Randall?
-RANDALL: Yeah.
...Marty and Rick Lagina take
a phone call in the war room.
Yeah, you got Marty and Rick.
-How are you?
-Good to hear your guys' voices.
NARRATOR:
For nearly two decades,
acclaimed author
Randall Sullivan
has been investigating
and writing
about the Oak Island mystery.
Two years ago, he paid
a special visit to the island
in order to conduct research
on a book...
Just imagine if the ghosts of
the 19th century could see this.
...one which, he intends,
will be the most comprehensive
and authoritative ever written
about the 223-year-old
treasure hunt.
RANDALL:
It astonished me how many people
didn't know about the story, and
were completely entranced by it,
and the story
just didn't go away,
'cause the mystery has
not gone away.
And that's actually what engages
me, in terms of writing a book.
It's the story, and the mystery
of it that is really compelling.
Well, you two share that.
RICK:
So, what can we do for you?
I'll say this: they're probably
the most puzzling finds.
That's for sure.
The most significant ones,
Randall,
we think, are the, uh,
the human bones.
I mean,
even for a skeptic like me,
it's just hard to come up
with a plausible reason
that those things
were that deep underground.
And then we have that very
strange medieval cross.
-I think those are
the two biggies for the year.
-Absolutely.
Well, there's a good question.
Um, that's why
they're so strange.
No, I don't really see
a connection between those two,
other than drawing the obvious
conclusion that something
rather extraordinary
happened here.
It's an island of what-ifs
and possibilities
and it continues to remain so.
You know, your favorite theory
was Francis Bacon.
Are you still there? Have you
uncovered anything more,
that Francis Bacon
has a connection here?
Yeah, isn't that maddening?
(soft laughter)
Uh, I'm looking forward
to reading your book.
I assume we get
an autographed copy, right?
That would be great.
Randall Sullivan's clearly
an Oak Island aficionado.
The fact that he's now
writing a book,
I look-- very much look forward
to reading it.
I've always believed
that the Oak Island story
is quite remarkable,
and I hope he does it justice.
Anyway, Randall, look,
we wish you the very best.
-Absolutely. Take care.
-See you.
MARTY:
Yeah. Bye.
NARRATOR:
Later that same day,
Rick Lagina joins Craig Tester,
Dave Blankenship
and Charles Barkhouse
as they head to the Money Pit
to check on the progress
of Borehole IJ-5.5,
a hole which they believe
intersects a 157-year-old
searcher tunnel
known as Shaft Six.
If their assumption is correct,
the team should be able
to locate
not only the original
Money Pit, but also
what they hope is a massive
underground debris field.
How deep are we?
-Oh, we're down about...
-89 feet.
-89 feet.
-Ooh.
RICK:
We're close.
The hope is that
this is the area
where the tunnel
to the Money Pit is.
-TERRY: Mm-hmm.
-The Shaft Six tunnel.
Well, from my perspective,
it's right in ground
that we haven't been in before.
So, if we can stay straight,
we'll hit a target that we
haven't seen in any other hole.
RICK:
There's no question that today,
there's some excitement
in the air,
certainly anticipation.
If there's something
to be found in the Money Pit,
it's in the tunnel
that connects Shaft Six
to the original Money Pit.
And the hope is that
this is indeed the location.
(metal squeaking)
Well, here we go.
-111, Charles.
-111.
Yep. It does.
Oh! That's interesting.
-CHARLES: What do you got?
-Wood, chunk of wood.
CRAIG:
Got wood here, too.
TERRY:
Pretty hard to say...
-Oh, whoa...
-CRAIG: Oh, that's definitely...
-CRAIG: That's a whole piece.
-TERRY: Whoa.
CRAIG: Oh, that's
definitely v piece.
NARRATOR: While drilling
in Borehole IJ-5.5,
Rick Lagina and members
of the Oak Island team
have just made a potentially
significant find.
CRAIG:
Is that horizontal, Rick?
Yeah.
I think you hit
the tunnel from Shaft Six.
NARRATOR: They have just
discovered evidence
of what appears
to be a wooden beam,
found at a depth of 111 feet.
A depth which, according
to historical records,
matches that of Shaft Six,
the 157-year-old
searcher tunnel
that they believe
can lead them directly
to the original Oak Island
Money Pit.
I-I think it's worth
calling Marty.
Craig, do you want to...
-Let's give Marty a call.
-Yeah.
(line ringing)
We think we found
one of the sides of Tunnel Six.
It's now finding the middle, and
is there any gold inside of it?
Uh, Craig would like
to go west, first.
I'm okay with that, but,
I think we need to, obviously,
we need to go east, as well,
to try to define it.
All we have to do
is find one thing.
Then we chase the tunnel,
and there's your Money Pit.
Bingo.
-CRAIG: Okay.
-RICK: All right.
-Sure thing. Talk to you again.
-Yeah. Bye.
RICK: Today was a good day
on Oak Island, in my opinion.
I do believe we're in a tunnel,
and if we are,
it's been, it's been hard-won,
hard fought.
He's been looking for this
debris field since we started.
So it moves the dial
a little bit.
You find that tunnel,
you'll find the Money Pit.
I really believe this is
the tunnel from Shaft Six.
Now it's just finding out,
did the treasure chest shoot
into this tunnel?
-Yep.
-There's something in Six.
-Let's find it.
-Okay.
-CRAIG: Okay, gentlemen.
-RICK: Thank you.
NARRATOR: After a day
that saw the Oak Island team
make promising new discoveries
both at the Money Pit
and Lot 21,
Rick Lagina welcomes
a very special visitor
to the island.
Davin, welcome.
-How you doing, buddy?
-How you doing?
NARRATOR:
Davin Halpern is the son
of late author and researcher
Zena Halpern.
He has come to see the place
where his mother's decades
of research materials
have now found a new home:
the Oak Island Research Center.
-Sit down, please.
-PAUL: Please.
-Thank you.
And we have, uh...
I hope the trip went well.
Yes. Absolutely.
RICK: You know, I mean,
waiting for you to arrive,
you know, Doug was speaking
about your mom.
For us, she's still alive.
She's still within here
and still within here.
And, you know, my life has been
enriched by meeting her.
I'm just really happy
that she's been taken in
as part of this family.
There was something
that she wanted you to have,
and I brought something with me.
So when you visited,
if you remember,
there was this candlestick.
So this was a precious artifact
that my mom brought back
from one of her travels.
Oh, wow.
DAVIN: I don't know
if she was tracing back
to some Hebrew relative
of hers...
I can tell you, it's an absolute
honor and a privilege
to bring this, personally,
here and be here.
It's really humbling for me.
I mean, I'm humbled,
stunned, appreciative.
You know, all I can say is...
t-thank you,
because it's-it's a part
of your mom here,
that has now come to reside
on Oak Island.
When we receive something
from a person
that we care about,
it's not about that item.
Memories flood back.
The understanding of
who that person is comes alive.
And in that moment,
I reconnected with her.
Surely, she touched
each and every one of us,
and to that end,
we're very grateful.
DAVIN: I'm so happy to see that
her work is being appreciated,
and it's likely
not going to end with her.
RICK:
I think we all commit to this,
that her research will endure.
It will not end with her.
I know how much she deeply cared
about you and everybody here,
and I know that she's looking
down on this
right now
and she's really happy.
Thank you.
Thank you, Davin.
Appreciate it, bud.
And I will tell you this:
there's but one time this candle
will be lit.
When we have the answers,
because of her work.
Awesome.
And you will be here in this
room when that lights up.
I will commit to that,
absolutely.
NARRATOR: For Rick, Marty
and the Oak Island team,
this week, more than any other,
has reminded them of the debt
they owe
to all the hard work done
by those who came before them.
For it is through
countless hours of digging,
as well as years
of fact finding and research,
that the Oak Island story has
been preserved.
And the keys
to a possible breakthrough
may very well exist.
Perhaps not in plain sight,
or even deep underground,
but hidden within books
and manuscripts,
or maybe on a simple piece
of paper,
written in code.
Next time
on The Curse of Oak Island...
The Jolly Roger was
originally a Templar symbol.
Some of them became pirates.
MARTY: I am very excited
to see some sort of chamber
-down in the Mega-bin area.
-Could it be wood?
I don't think so.
It's pretty dense.
CRAIG: If there's a plate
covering up something,
that's gonna be huge.
RICK:
We have this lead artifact.
Can you actually put
a precise location on it?
I think I got some pretty
interesting results for you.
MARTY:
It is the most historic thing
that's maybe ever happened
in North America.
CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS
The Curse of Oak Island...
Maybe today
we'll find the one thing.
I think we're right on target
for that tunnel.
TERRY:
Keep your eyes peeled, guys.
-(beeping)
-GARY: Sweet.
-What is that?
We found a copy
of the Cremona Document.
That document will lead us
to a Templar voyage
to the new world,
including Oak Island.
MARTY: We have the first
evidence the French were here.
-TERRY: Whoa!
-CHARLES: What do you got?
I think you hit the tunnel
from Shaft Six.
NARRATOR: There is an island
in the North Atlantic
where people have been looking
for an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.
So far, they have found
a stone slab
with strange symbols
carved into it,
mysterious fragments
of human bone,
and a lead cross
whose origin may stretch back
to the days
of the Knights Templar.
To date, six men have died
trying to solve the mystery.
And, according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: For brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina
and members of their team,
the keys to solving the
223-year-old Oak Island mystery
may be closer than ever.
Hey, Mike,
we're going to go with HI-4.
Not looking for much
of anything till
-at least 90 feet.
-Sounds good.
From then on,
we'll start firming up,
making sure
we're getting good samples.
-Okay.
-The key-- looking for a tunnel
at the 100-foot level,
maybe a little deeper.
Okay. Sounds good.
-Okay.
-All right.
NARRATOR: In recent weeks,
an ambitious seismic survey
of the island
has revealed a number
of possible underground voids.
Voids which may be connected
to the original
Oak Island treasure shaft,
discovered in 1795.
There's your wood!
NARRATOR:
So far, the seismic results
have guided the team
to the remains
of a possible tunnel
at a depth of 93 feet,
along with evidence
of human activity
some 170 feet deep underground.
Somebody's hit these things
with an axe. You can see it.
NARRATOR: Today,
the team has begun drilling
a new exploratory borehole
in an area known as HI-4,
where seismic imaging detected
a possible network of tunnels
at a depth of 100 feet.
We've got two well locations
that hit wood
that, to me, look like tunnels,
-because of the amount
you found.
-Right.
So, if these are the shafts,
then that's the direction
the tunnel would go. HI-4.
TERRY: Yeah,
and that's, in general,
where conventional wisdom
-indicates
that the Money Pit was.
-Right. Right.
-Okay.
-So, we'll see.
NARRATOR:
It was while excavating
in this same area last year
that the team encountered
an object they believed
to be
the so-called Chappell Vault
at a depth of some 170 feet.
(mechanical whirring, clanging)
It feels like I'm on a whole
bunch of wood at once now.
NARRATOR: The vault,
which was first discovered
by treasure hunters William
Chappell and Frederick Blair
in 1897,
was estimated to be a large,
seven-foot-tall
wooden structure.
After drilling through it,
the drill bit revealed
evidence of gold,
as well as a small piece of
parchment with writing on it.
Unfortunately, when Chappell
and Blair attempted
to excavate the vault,
the tunnel
they had dug filled with water
and collapsed.
Last year,
after once again locating
what Rick, Marty
and Craig Tester believed
to be the Chappell Vault,
the 60-inch-wide drilling
caisson they were using
seemed to have pushed
the elusive structure lower
and lower into the soft,
muddy ground
and off to the side.
We have to exploit this find.
We have to, um,
you know, find out
the orientation of the tunnel,
because it's certainly
in close proximity to H-8.
And if we model it,
and it turns out
that it's somewhere in
association with the Money Pit,
then we're onto something.
(mechanical whirring)
CRAIG:
It'd be great if we hit wood,
you know, 100 feet or something.
I would like it. Then we're
look... then we're looking
-for that break for that tunnel.
-Yeah.
We should be drilling
good and straight.
NARRATOR:
As the drilling operation
at the Money Pit continues...
(Skype ringing)
-Hey, Marty.
-Hey, guys.
NARRATOR: ...Craig Tester
joins Rick Lagina
and other members
of the Oak Island team
in the war room.
So, big brother, how'd your trip
to New York go? Tell me.
I'll tell you in one word.
-I was stunned.
-Wow.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
Rick received the shocking news
that his close friend,
researcher and author
Zena Halpern,
had passed away.
Rick also learned that Zena had
bequeathed to him
the results of her life's work,
including a vast trove of books
and documents
which seemed to connect
the Oak Island mystery
to activities
involving the Knights Templar
as far back as
the 12th century.
I'm just so thrilled to know
that her life's work
isn't just gonna stop
right now.
I guarantee you it's not gonna
stop, Davin, Jason.
It's not gonna stop.
She wouldn't allow it to stop,
and we won't either.
Thank you, brother.
The amount of material
that Zena has wrought...
The width and breadth
of the lady's accomplishments
and research...
It was stunning.
That is the word, stunning.
Is it tied to Oak Island?
I think we all have a...
just a very rudimentary
understanding
of the work
as it relates to Oak Island.
The information is
somewhat disjointed.
Do you have the information
with you? You have it all?
I have some of it,
but there was so much
that we have to have it shipped.
The information will all come
to Oak Island.
So one of the things
that was found
is a, uh, actual copy
of the Cremona Document.
And it's a deposition
by this English Templar knight.
It's a description
of a year-long voyage
to the New World,
wha-what's called Onteora.
I know what this is.
This is at the core
of your mother's research.
NARRATOR: While packing up
Zena's collection of research,
Rick discovered a copy
of what is known as
the "Cremona Document,"
a collection of maps
and journal passages
reportedly authored by
the 12th-century Templar knight
Ralph de Sudeley.
It describes not only
de Sudeley's journey
to the Temple Mount
in Jerusalem,
where he claimed
to have recovered
priceless religious treasures
including the Ark
of the Covenant,
but also a Templar voyage to
the New World in the year 1178,
more than three centuries
before Christopher Columbus
made landfall in North America.
I don't know if this is
100% accurate, I don't.
Right.
I do believe with 100% certainty
that it's worth
some commitment of ours
to try to come to
an understanding
of whether not only
is this relevant,
but is it accurate?
Here's my thought.
We've now come into possession
of some remarkable research,
a lifetime's worth of research,
literally.
And to that end, I propose that
we establish a research center.
A place where we can gather the
information regarding our work,
our pursuit of answers
for the Oak Island mystery,
and commit ourselves
to that endeavor.
I want to carry her work
forward, I do.
Once Zena's research is here
and housed here,
it will foster this sense
that the information hunt
is, indeed, important.
I believe there's a lot more
to glean from her research,
and who knows where
those paths lead us?
I think the future of that
research, Zena's legacy,
if you will, is in very good
hands on Oak Island.
Yeah, it sounds to me like the
research center idea is timely
because, you know, it's going
to take some real digging
to mess with this.
So, keep going, keep digging
is all I can say,
and see what's... try and
separate out fact from fiction.
I'm gonna make certain
that we follow up on this.
-Good job, you guys.
-All right.
-See you later.
-See ya.
MARTY:
Talk to you later. Bye.
CHARLES:
What hole are we on?
-TERRY: HI-4.
-CHARLES: HI-4? Okay.
NARRATOR: Following their
meeting in the war room,
Craig Tester
and Charles Barkhouse
return to the Money Pit area to
check on the drilling progress
of Borehole HI-4,
a location where recent
seismic scanning indicates
a man-made tunnel might exist
some 100 feet below.
-This is 118?
-Yeah.
NARRATOR: As the sonic rig
advances the drill bar
deeper into the ground,
a specialized coring barrel
on the end
will extract samples of earth,
and any objects or evidence,
in intervals of up to ten feet.
TERRY:
All right, here we go.
We're casing to 118 right now.
-What's on the table is
109 to 118.
-Okay.
NARRATOR:
These samples
will then be carefully examined
by the team
for any evidence of the tunnel,
and hopefully,
any important artifacts
or treasure they might contain.
So, let's-let's look at this
with much interest.
Keep your eyes peeled, guys.
CHARLES:
It's just thick, eh? Solid.
Uh-oh, that's wood.
Is that horizontal?
-A little bit of an angle.
-CHARLES: You know,
it came this way, so...
-That's 45-ish.
-Yeah, it's coming in
a little bit
-of an angle, but, you know,
it could have been a...
-It's coming in-- Yeah,
-could have been...
-Could have been
a collapsed board.
Yeah.
TERRY: Flip that over.
That's a very flat surface.
-That's the edge of your timber.
-Yeah.
I think we're right on target
for-for that tunnel.
I think we're right
in the general area.
I really think we're in
in situ material.
NARRATOR: The presence
of undisturbed or in situ soil
means that the wood
the team has found
is likely from a centuries-old,
man-made structure.
Could it be one
of the infamous flood tunnels
designed to protect
a priceless treasure?
Or might it be a tunnel that
leads to the treasure itself?
You guys got your own
personal swamp going on here.
-Yes.
-Hey, Rick.
Where we at?
CRAIG:
109 to 118.
I don't know. Looks like a--
looks like a cut piece here.
And what's interesting
about this, that was
-almost horizontal.
-CRAIG: Charles,
what do you think about finding
wood at this depth?
We could, possibly--
just possibly--
be in your debris field.
The tunnel going from Shaft Six
to the Money Pit.
NARRATOR: A tunnel leading
to the Money Pit?
In 1861,
a team of treasure hunters
attempted to reach the bottom
of the original Money Pit
and avoid the flood tunnels
by digging an adjacent shaft
down to a depth of 118 feet.
From there, they began
tunneling some 18 feet east
in the hopes of entering
from underneath the floor
of the suspected
treasure chamber.
Unfortunately,
as the team dug closer,
the tunnel, known as Shaft Six,
started flooding
with seawater,
halting their efforts.
Just days later,
workers reported
hearing a series
of horribly loud crashes below,
leading to speculation that
the Money Pit had collapsed,
scattering tons of lumber
and possible treasure
across a deep,
flooded debris field.
Shaft Six,
at the time they dug it,
they knew exactly where
the original Money Pit was.
If we can find the tunnel,
we can track it back
to the original location
of the Money Pit,
and there you are.
If it is Shaft Six,
it's been long sought.
Records show 118
would be the bottom of it.
-Yeah, we just don't know where.
-RICK: Well, it depends.
-Depends on which end you're at.
-Yeah, exactly.
'Cause that thing was
18 feet long.
But if it's clear,
and you really knew it was Six,
and then you knew
which end you were at,
and then you could infer
where the Money Pit was...
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Because the location
of Shaft Six has been lost
for over a century, finding
what appears to be evidence
of an old searcher tunnel could
be an exciting breakthrough.
If the Oak Island team can
determine which part
of the shaft they have
discovered,
it could help them pinpoint
the exact position
of the original Money Pit.
(drill whining, creaking)
RICK:
If this is Six,
something's gonna come up
in that core.
CRAIG:
Okay, here it comes.
TERRY:
Think that was pushed down?
-Nothing big?
-No.
There's wood right here.
Look at there.
Yeah, that's a little...
interesting.
That's the floor of the tunnel,
right there.
Now, that ties pretty good
with Shaft Six and its tunnel.
What does that tell us to do?
Move over and try
to track that further,
see if that's a shaft or not?
Yeah, I agree.
TERRY: So, yeah,
what are we at right now?
-So, we're at 128.
-128-ish.
Yeah, there's no point
in going deeper.
No.
NARRATOR: Having reached
a depth of 128 feet,
some ten feet below
the bottom of Shaft Six,
the Oak Island team
sees little purpose
in continuing to dig
Borehole HI-4.
Instead, they will choose
another drill site in an effort
to find the elusive
19th-century searcher shaft
and the tunnel that should lead
them to the original Money Pit.
There's enough intriguing
information here
that lends itself, I think...
Wh-When we come back at this,
we have to continue to explore
this possibility.
-Yep, absolutely.
-Perfect. Thanks, guys.
-Yep. Take care.
-See ya.
-See ya, Rick.
NARRATOR: As a new day begins
on Oak Island...
MARTY: Rick, I believe your
research center is here.
NARRATOR: ...Rick, Marty
and members of the team
welcome the arrival
of a very timely addition
to the island.
DAVE:
Oh, look at that.
Wow.
NARRATOR:
Irving Equipment, Limited,
the company which,
for the past three years,
has become a valuable partner
in nearly all of the team's
major excavations,
has helped arrange
for one of its affiliates--
Kent Homes--
to temporarily donate
one of their prefabricated
residential dwellings
to the island.
It will serve not only
as a library
to house the records
of Zena Halpern,
but also as a research center,
where people interested
in Oak Island and its history
can come and work.
I'm very grateful myself.
I think that Oak Island is
a very special place,
and as part of that,
we welcome Irving
as part of the Oak Island story.
Well, thank you very much
for the-the opportunity
to-to be a part of this.
Anything we can do on our end,
we'll gladly help support you
-on that from our side.
-Great. Fantastic.
Let's have a look.
MARTY:
Very nice.
-In fact, really nice.
-Yup.
It'll be nicer when there's
computers, maps,
conference tables,
monitors.
I've always espoused the belief
that we need
a proper research center.
If we all really want answers
to the mystery, then we need to
have a place where
real research can be done.
The deal is you've got
to look to the past
to move the...
to move the search forward.
All it would take is
one little discovery
and one little,
obscure piece of paper
-to turn everything,
make it all worth it.
-Exactly.
RICK:
It's a great start
for what
we're trying to achieve.
CHARLES:
I agree.
Rick Lagina and Charles
Barkhouse are joined
by fellow Oak Island
enthusiasts
Doug Crowell and Paul Troutman.
Wow, I see Doug's already
got it set up.
Yeah.
(laughs)
NARRATOR:
They have come to help unpack
the vast collection
of research materials,
most of which Rick
has recently inherited
from his late friend,
Zena Halpern.
Look at that.
It's all... annotated.
You know, notes.
It's incredible.
RICK: One of the greatest things
about Oak Island
is you meet interesting,
wonderful,
captivating people.
And this commitment, this
passion, this desire to learn,
it changed Zena's life.
PAUL:
Yeah, she added notes
on top of
what was currently there.
Notes on top of notes.
We'll have to see how it ties in
more with Oak Island.
NARRATOR: As work on the new
research center progresses,
Jack Begley, Peter Fornetti
and metal-detection expert
Gary Drayton head to Lot 21,
located on the western side
of the island.
GARY: So, we should be able
to bring back
a ton of stuff from here.
-PETER: Let's get to it.
-GARY: Yep.
NARRATOR: It was while searching
this same lot
just three weeks ago
that Gary,
along with Rick Lagina,
made one of the team's
most astonishing discoveries
to date.
GARY:
Oh, my gosh.
It's another bobby-dazzler!
Look.
NARRATOR:
A gold-plated brooch,
which was later
determined to be
as much as 700 years old.
GARY: I'm trying to winkle
a good target out.
(metal detector whines)
(beeping)
That is what a button
or a coin would sound like.
(whining)
Just in here, mate.
(beeping)
GARY:
Come on, be something good.
JACK: Baby,
give me something good.
(beeping)
It's out, whatever it is.
-(beeping)
-JACK: What is that?
-That's got some designs on it.
-GARY: Yeah, that has.
Oh, that's cool.
GARY: You know what this
reminds me of?
This reminds me of, like, a cap
badge, a military cap badge.
This would have been
a decoration on a cap.
It would have been on the front,
and that's
a top-pocket find, mate.
In we go.
All right.
And we'll see if there's
any more parts to it.
(sensor whirring, beeping)
GARY: We got another signal
in the top.
-JACK: Oh, awesome.
-Be a little bit more gentle
with this one, this time.
I'm hoping it's more
of the same.
(beeping)
-Ooh, it is.
-It is.
-Yeah.
-Yes.
-Oh, man, look at that.
I-I could, before I moved it,
I could see the fleur-de-lis.
This is...
That is definitely...
Let's see if it fits on there.
-JACK: It does.
-PETER: Perfect.
GARY:
It's definitely a fit.
Like a glove.
Wow, look at that design
on there.
They look like fleur-de-lis,
or very, very similar.
-That's a French design.
-JACK: French?
This would date to the 1700s.
NARRATOR:
A badge?
And possibly from the cap
of an 18th-century
French military
officer's uniform?
But if so, what is it doing
on Oak Island?
And could it have some
connection to the gold brooch
discovered in this same area
earlier this year?
-French military, baby.
-JACK: (chuckles) Yeah.
But what was they either
putting here or searching for?
Or protecting.
GARY: Definitely
a top-pocket find, guys.
NARRATOR:
Later that same day...
...Rick and Charles,
along with Craig Tester
and Dave Blankenship, head over
to the Money Pit site,
where the team from Choice
Drilling has already begun
coring a new borehole,
known as IJ-5.5,
an area chosen
due to its close proximity
to GAL-1, one of the team's
most promising shafts to date.
-Hey, guys.
-Hey.
RICK: I am absolutely interested
in drilling
this position called IJ-5.5,
in search of
the long sought after tunnel
between Shaft Six
and the Money Pit.
After that collapse, in 1861,
the Money Pit location
was lost,
and ever since then,
there's only been a guess.
An educated guess, mind you,
but if we can find that tunnel,
I think that's the way
to un-corkscrew the Money Pit.
CHARLES:
So, Brennan, we're at 59, right?
BRENNAN:
That's correct, 59.
RICK: The reason why this one
is interesting,
-when we drilled the GAL hole...
-Yep.
...we found, in the spoils,
we find a very old spike,
and we found
a gold-plated button.
MARTY:
That's our spot, right there.
-That's where GAL is.
-GAL number one.
NARRATOR:
Two years ago, in an effort
to locate the original
Money Pit, the Oak Island team
excavated a 40-inch-wide
exploratory shaft
which was named in honor
of Rick and Marty's parents,
George and Ann Lagina: GAL-1.
We've got a coin!
Honest to God, a coin?
Out of this spoils pile?
NARRATOR: It was while searching
the spoils from this hole,
which was dug
to a depth of 160 feet,
that the team made a number
of significant discoveries...
GARY:
It says "plated." It's a button.
NARRATOR:
...including a gold-plated
18th-century
British military button,
a 300-year-old
iron rosehead spike
and a mysterious metal hinge
believed to have come from some
kind of large box or vault.
RICK: Maybe that was part
of the debris field.
I never thought twice
about it, did you?
No, 'cause we didn't know
where it came from.
Okay.
Maybe today
we'll find the one thing.
-CRAIG: Yeah.
-Yep.
RICK:
That's the hope.
NARRATOR:
Early the next day...
If that's French,
then obviously,
as the team
from Choice Drilling
continues the coring operation
at Borehole IJ-5.5...
-CHARLES: Wow.
-RICK: Look at that.
CHARLES:
They're really coming along.
-DAN H.: Yeah.
-Morning.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina,
Charles Barkhouse
and Dan Henskee
check on the progress
of the massive steel cofferdam
being constructed
at Smith's Cove.
-Wow.
-Quite impressive.
It's looking good.
RICK: You know, I have
high hopes for that area.
CHARLES:
Yeah.
RICK:
So, bring us up to speed.
How is it going?
Have you encountered, you know,
the problem-- the potential
problem was always wood.
Have you encountered
any of that?
No wood, yet. No.
A little harder tills and clay
we're into now, but no wood.
You can see the profile
of the sheets,
-right where the corner starts.
-CHARLES: Yeah.
COLIN: Where they step up
about a foot or so,
-that's where
the hard tills are.
-Yeah.
NARRATOR: In order to construct
a cofferdam both wide enough
and deep enough to encircle
most of Smith's Cove,
the team from Irving Equipment,
Limited has employed a process
known as sheet piling,
which uses a powerful hydraulic
hammer to drive
40-foot-long steel sheets up to
25 feet deep into the seabed.
Each of these pilings,
weighing some 5,500 pounds,
will interlock together
to form a 525-foot-long
watertight barrier,
which, when finished,
will allow the Oak Island team
to fully drain
and then excavate
the approximately
12,000-square-foot area.
If successful,
the team may be able to find
not only important
historical artifacts
like the mysterious lead cross,
but also the entrance
to the booby-trapped
flood tunnel system,
which sends ocean water
to the Money Pit area
for the purpose of thwarting
would-be treasure hunters.
How far along
do you think we are?
After today,
we should have about a third
-of the wall completed.
-Good.
RICK:
I'm buoyed by the fact
that we're going
to accomplish this.
We're going to get Smith's Cove
sealed off watertight
once and for all.
If it were up to me,
I would start yesterday.
The faster this proceeds,
the more answers we will gain,
and, uh, that's the hope.
Colin, can't wait
to see it completed,
and, uh, we can
get our hands dirty.
-Sure.
-Yeah.
RICK: I know you got
a lot of work to do.
The guys are busy, so good luck
the rest of the day.
-Stay safe.
-COLIN: Yes, you, too.
-See you later, guys.
-CHARLES: Thank you.
COLIN:
Take care.
NARRATOR:
Later that day...
MARTY:
Come on in.
...Marty Lagina, his son Alex
and local archeologist
Laird Niven
arrive for a meeting at the
new Oak Island Research Center.
-Hello, gents.
-GARY: Hey, guys.
-PAUL: Hey, how you doing, guys?
-Hey, guys.
-I got Laird in tow.
NARRATOR: They have been
invited by Gary Drayton
and researcher Paul Troutman
to inspect Gary's most recent
discoveries on Lot 21.
Gary, I understand you have
some TPFs for us.
-Yep. Top-pocket finds.
-Top-pocket finds.
-GARY: I have.
-You know, I'm always excited
when you say that,
so let's have a look.
Well, first of all, I'll have to
tell you where this came from.
MARTY:
Yep.
Lot 21.
So, I won't tease you
any longer,
and it's in the top pocket.
MARTY:
All right.
GARY:
Check this out.
Both pieces were found
in the same area.
What do you think
of that, Laird?
-LAIRD: Hmm.
-ALEX: Oh, man, look at that.
LAIRD:
Interesting.
GARY: I think what this is
is a cap or a hat decoration,
a military uniform piece.
That's kind of the shape
of a grenadier's hat as well,
-replicating that...
-Yeah. Yeah.
GARY: And the French influence,
as well.
LAIRD:
Yeah. Yeah.
If that's French,
then obviously,
the first thing you think of
is the ship's log
and the Duc D'Anville,
and all of that connection.
I found eight pages of a ship,
what looks like a ship's log.
NARRATOR: Last year, Oak Island
researcher Doug Crowell
presented the team
with information
taken from
a centuries-old ship's log.
In it was the detailed account
of a failed French
naval expedition in 1746
led by the Duc D'Anville,
a descendant of a family
connected
to the Knights Templar.
The log also documented
the construction
of what was described
as a deep treasure shaft
dug on a wooded island
and then filled with millions
in gold and precious jewels.
"It has been agreed
that a deep pit be dug,
"the pit to have a secret
entrance by a tunnel
from the shore."
CRAIG: I mean, a great quantity
of treasure,
and that they appear
to be in this bay.
What troubles me
is how perfect this is.
Interestingly enough,
the Duc D'Anville,
his real name was Jean-Baptiste
Louis Frédéric de Rochefoucauld.
NARRATOR: Could this French
military badge,
which Gary believes dates back
to the 1700s,
be physical evidence
that the Duc D'Anville
actually came to Oak Island?
The same Duc D'Anville
whose ancestors were believed
by Zena Halpern
to be key players in the Oak
Island treasure mystery?
Is that the only potential
French thing
we've found on the island?
-It is for me.
-Yeah.
As far as I know.
MARTY: Every time you find
something, Gary,
-it expands the possibilities,
not shrinks them.
-Yes.
-More questions than answers.
-(laughter)
Good. Let's see
where the trail leads us.
GARY:
I need some bigger top pockets.
(laughter)
NARRATOR: As the drilling
of Borehole IJ-5.5 continues
at the Money Pit...
RANDALL (over phone):
Hello?
-MARTY: Hello, Randall?
-RANDALL: Yeah.
...Marty and Rick Lagina take
a phone call in the war room.
Yeah, you got Marty and Rick.
-How are you?
-Good to hear your guys' voices.
NARRATOR:
For nearly two decades,
acclaimed author
Randall Sullivan
has been investigating
and writing
about the Oak Island mystery.
Two years ago, he paid
a special visit to the island
in order to conduct research
on a book...
Just imagine if the ghosts of
the 19th century could see this.
...one which, he intends,
will be the most comprehensive
and authoritative ever written
about the 223-year-old
treasure hunt.
RANDALL:
It astonished me how many people
didn't know about the story, and
were completely entranced by it,
and the story
just didn't go away,
'cause the mystery has
not gone away.
And that's actually what engages
me, in terms of writing a book.
It's the story, and the mystery
of it that is really compelling.
Well, you two share that.
RICK:
So, what can we do for you?
I'll say this: they're probably
the most puzzling finds.
That's for sure.
The most significant ones,
Randall,
we think, are the, uh,
the human bones.
I mean,
even for a skeptic like me,
it's just hard to come up
with a plausible reason
that those things
were that deep underground.
And then we have that very
strange medieval cross.
-I think those are
the two biggies for the year.
-Absolutely.
Well, there's a good question.
Um, that's why
they're so strange.
No, I don't really see
a connection between those two,
other than drawing the obvious
conclusion that something
rather extraordinary
happened here.
It's an island of what-ifs
and possibilities
and it continues to remain so.
You know, your favorite theory
was Francis Bacon.
Are you still there? Have you
uncovered anything more,
that Francis Bacon
has a connection here?
Yeah, isn't that maddening?
(soft laughter)
Uh, I'm looking forward
to reading your book.
I assume we get
an autographed copy, right?
That would be great.
Randall Sullivan's clearly
an Oak Island aficionado.
The fact that he's now
writing a book,
I look-- very much look forward
to reading it.
I've always believed
that the Oak Island story
is quite remarkable,
and I hope he does it justice.
Anyway, Randall, look,
we wish you the very best.
-Absolutely. Take care.
-See you.
MARTY:
Yeah. Bye.
NARRATOR:
Later that same day,
Rick Lagina joins Craig Tester,
Dave Blankenship
and Charles Barkhouse
as they head to the Money Pit
to check on the progress
of Borehole IJ-5.5,
a hole which they believe
intersects a 157-year-old
searcher tunnel
known as Shaft Six.
If their assumption is correct,
the team should be able
to locate
not only the original
Money Pit, but also
what they hope is a massive
underground debris field.
How deep are we?
-Oh, we're down about...
-89 feet.
-89 feet.
-Ooh.
RICK:
We're close.
The hope is that
this is the area
where the tunnel
to the Money Pit is.
-TERRY: Mm-hmm.
-The Shaft Six tunnel.
Well, from my perspective,
it's right in ground
that we haven't been in before.
So, if we can stay straight,
we'll hit a target that we
haven't seen in any other hole.
RICK:
There's no question that today,
there's some excitement
in the air,
certainly anticipation.
If there's something
to be found in the Money Pit,
it's in the tunnel
that connects Shaft Six
to the original Money Pit.
And the hope is that
this is indeed the location.
(metal squeaking)
Well, here we go.
-111, Charles.
-111.
Yep. It does.
Oh! That's interesting.
-CHARLES: What do you got?
-Wood, chunk of wood.
CRAIG:
Got wood here, too.
TERRY:
Pretty hard to say...
-Oh, whoa...
-CRAIG: Oh, that's definitely...
-CRAIG: That's a whole piece.
-TERRY: Whoa.
CRAIG: Oh, that's
definitely v piece.
NARRATOR: While drilling
in Borehole IJ-5.5,
Rick Lagina and members
of the Oak Island team
have just made a potentially
significant find.
CRAIG:
Is that horizontal, Rick?
Yeah.
I think you hit
the tunnel from Shaft Six.
NARRATOR: They have just
discovered evidence
of what appears
to be a wooden beam,
found at a depth of 111 feet.
A depth which, according
to historical records,
matches that of Shaft Six,
the 157-year-old
searcher tunnel
that they believe
can lead them directly
to the original Oak Island
Money Pit.
I-I think it's worth
calling Marty.
Craig, do you want to...
-Let's give Marty a call.
-Yeah.
(line ringing)
We think we found
one of the sides of Tunnel Six.
It's now finding the middle, and
is there any gold inside of it?
Uh, Craig would like
to go west, first.
I'm okay with that, but,
I think we need to, obviously,
we need to go east, as well,
to try to define it.
All we have to do
is find one thing.
Then we chase the tunnel,
and there's your Money Pit.
Bingo.
-CRAIG: Okay.
-RICK: All right.
-Sure thing. Talk to you again.
-Yeah. Bye.
RICK: Today was a good day
on Oak Island, in my opinion.
I do believe we're in a tunnel,
and if we are,
it's been, it's been hard-won,
hard fought.
He's been looking for this
debris field since we started.
So it moves the dial
a little bit.
You find that tunnel,
you'll find the Money Pit.
I really believe this is
the tunnel from Shaft Six.
Now it's just finding out,
did the treasure chest shoot
into this tunnel?
-Yep.
-There's something in Six.
-Let's find it.
-Okay.
-CRAIG: Okay, gentlemen.
-RICK: Thank you.
NARRATOR: After a day
that saw the Oak Island team
make promising new discoveries
both at the Money Pit
and Lot 21,
Rick Lagina welcomes
a very special visitor
to the island.
Davin, welcome.
-How you doing, buddy?
-How you doing?
NARRATOR:
Davin Halpern is the son
of late author and researcher
Zena Halpern.
He has come to see the place
where his mother's decades
of research materials
have now found a new home:
the Oak Island Research Center.
-Sit down, please.
-PAUL: Please.
-Thank you.
And we have, uh...
I hope the trip went well.
Yes. Absolutely.
RICK: You know, I mean,
waiting for you to arrive,
you know, Doug was speaking
about your mom.
For us, she's still alive.
She's still within here
and still within here.
And, you know, my life has been
enriched by meeting her.
I'm just really happy
that she's been taken in
as part of this family.
There was something
that she wanted you to have,
and I brought something with me.
So when you visited,
if you remember,
there was this candlestick.
So this was a precious artifact
that my mom brought back
from one of her travels.
Oh, wow.
DAVIN: I don't know
if she was tracing back
to some Hebrew relative
of hers...
I can tell you, it's an absolute
honor and a privilege
to bring this, personally,
here and be here.
It's really humbling for me.
I mean, I'm humbled,
stunned, appreciative.
You know, all I can say is...
t-thank you,
because it's-it's a part
of your mom here,
that has now come to reside
on Oak Island.
When we receive something
from a person
that we care about,
it's not about that item.
Memories flood back.
The understanding of
who that person is comes alive.
And in that moment,
I reconnected with her.
Surely, she touched
each and every one of us,
and to that end,
we're very grateful.
DAVIN: I'm so happy to see that
her work is being appreciated,
and it's likely
not going to end with her.
RICK:
I think we all commit to this,
that her research will endure.
It will not end with her.
I know how much she deeply cared
about you and everybody here,
and I know that she's looking
down on this
right now
and she's really happy.
Thank you.
Thank you, Davin.
Appreciate it, bud.
And I will tell you this:
there's but one time this candle
will be lit.
When we have the answers,
because of her work.
Awesome.
And you will be here in this
room when that lights up.
I will commit to that,
absolutely.
NARRATOR: For Rick, Marty
and the Oak Island team,
this week, more than any other,
has reminded them of the debt
they owe
to all the hard work done
by those who came before them.
For it is through
countless hours of digging,
as well as years
of fact finding and research,
that the Oak Island story has
been preserved.
And the keys
to a possible breakthrough
may very well exist.
Perhaps not in plain sight,
or even deep underground,
but hidden within books
and manuscripts,
or maybe on a simple piece
of paper,
written in code.
Next time
on The Curse of Oak Island...
The Jolly Roger was
originally a Templar symbol.
Some of them became pirates.
MARTY: I am very excited
to see some sort of chamber
-down in the Mega-bin area.
-Could it be wood?
I don't think so.
It's pretty dense.
CRAIG: If there's a plate
covering up something,
that's gonna be huge.
RICK:
We have this lead artifact.
Can you actually put
a precise location on it?
I think I got some pretty
interesting results for you.
MARTY:
It is the most historic thing
that's maybe ever happened
in North America.
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